On 13th May the Old Dominion University of Norfolk is organising a conference entitled "Europe in America - Learning from Each Other" in which the Chairman of the Foundation Jean-Dominique Giuliani is taking part. He is speaking at a round table "European Integration and Economic Governance."

67.87% of the British voted for the upkeep of the one round majority vote for the election of MPs in the House of Commons during the referendum on 5th May. Only 32.09% voted in support of a change in the voting system. Turnout only rose to 41.97%. This result is a defeat for Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's Lib-Dems - who are also members of the government coalition and a victory for the Conservatives of Prime Minister David Cameron. However both say that the coalition is not in danger.

As part of the project "Women for Europe and the Citizens' Initiative", the Institute for Democracy, Konstantinos Karamanlis is organising a conference in Athens on 13th May called "More Europe for Women, The European Citizens' Initiative". Find all the information you require on our project on the site: www.femmes-europe.eu. This site is available in French, English, Greek and Polish. Answer our grand survey on Women and Europe!

The Portuguese government fell victim to the economic crisis. Its fourth rescue plan was not approved by Parliament on 23rd March last. Portuguese Prime Minister José Socrates (Socialist Party PS) therefore handed in his resignation. President of the Republic Anibal Cavaco Silva - after consulting all of the parties - convened early general elections that are to take place on 5th June. The Portuguese Parliament, which is monocameral comprises 230 members elected for four years by proportional representation within 20 constituencies. Five political parties are represented there at present: the Socialist Party (PS) led by Prime Minister José Socrates; the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the main opposition party led by Pedro Passos Coelho; the Popular Party (PP), an opposition party led by Paulo Portas; the Left Bloc, an opposition party led by Francisco Louca; and the Communist Party (PCP), an oppostiion party led by Jeronimo de Sousa.

On 15th April last the Sobrania the only chamber in the Macedonian Parliament was dissolved by 79 of the 120 MPs and early general elections were convened for 5th June by the Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski (VMRO-DPMNE). The dissolution comes just after a boycott by the main opposition party, the SDSM. However Macedonians do not seem to appreciate this boycott very much and the polls seem to be providing the Prime Minister's party with greater advantage. The Parliament is monocameral and has 120 members who are elected by proportional representation for four years in six constituencies each electing 20 MPs. Five political parties are represented in Parliament at present: the VMRO-DPMNE of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, the SDSM, opposition party led by Branko Crvenkovski; the Albanian Democratic Party (PDS-PDSh); the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI-BDI), a member of the present government coalition; the Party for a European Future (PEI).

On the occasion of 9th May the Robert Schuman Foundation has published the fifth edition of Robert Schuman's only work: "For Europe". This book is available on the Foundation site in French, English and German. Order it!

On the 61st annivesary of the Schuman Declaration American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "congratulated the people of the EU on the occasion of the 9th May celebration." She also thanked the EU "for the role that it played across the world" and recalled "the joint commitment to the values of freedom, democracy, the respect of the rule of law and human rights." She said the commitment to "the privileged partnership" that the US had with Europe should be renewed.

Inflation in the Netherlands remained stable at 2% in March, ie well below the European average of 3.1% said the Central Statistics Bureau on 4th May. The CBS said that the difference lay in energy prices.

In April the inflation rate stabilised at 3.7% announced the National Statistics Office on 4th May. For the seventh month running the Office has noted a rise in prices on oil products even though they increased more moderately than the previous month.

According to figures published on 3rd May by Statistics Denmark unemployment in Denmark remained stable in March with a gross unemployment rate of 5.9% of the working population. The unemployment rate adjusted to seasonal variations has not changed in comparison with February and totalled 4% in March.

The Spanish employment agency announced on 4th May that there had been a decrease in the number of unemployed in April totalling 64,039 people (-1.48%). The total number of unemployed now lies at 4,269,360. On the same day Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero said he was pleased with the figures that are the "best in five years".

On 5th May the Governing Council of the ECB decided that the main interest rate would remain unchanged at 1.25%. The other interest rates will also remain unchanged. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet implicitly excluded the possibility of a rise in rates before July. The sovereign debt crisis had cancelled out some of the progress achieved in the financial integration process of the euro area says the ECB's annual report published on 2nd May. The report points to the worsening of the sovereign debt markets, monetary markets and the banking sectors as areas of concern. The ECB also criticises goverments' massive support given to banks, the way that Europe has faced the financial crisis and calls for a better coordinated approach in the future.

The Norwegian National Statistics Institute, Statistics Norway announced an unemployment rate of 3.1% on 4th May for the month of February 2011 down by 0.5% since November 2010.

The Cypriot statistics service announced on 4th May a rise of 4.5% in the unemployment rate adjusted according to seasonal variations in April 2011; 27,479 people are now affected.

The Portuguese government came to an agreement on 3rd May with the EU, the ECB and the IMF in ivew of financial aid totalling 78 billion euros over three years. The IMF will provide 26 billion, the EU 52 billion. In exchange the country must commit to an austerity plan to be undertaken in 2011, 2012 and 2013 which should help it bring its budgetary deficit down from 9.1% in 2010 to 3% in 2013. The programme is built on three strong pillars. First, a set of pro-growth measures aimed at making the country competitive again and creating jobs--especially for the young people of Portugal. Second, a set of ambitious fiscal measures needed to reduce the public debt and deficit, implemented at a pace that is realistic and which allows Portugal the time it needs to demonstrate policy implementation and restore market confidence. Third, a set of measures aimed at ensuring the stability of Portugal's financial sector.

On 3rd May the OCDE announced that consumer prices in the OCDE area rose by 2.7% in the year to March 2011, compared with 2.4% in February. This increase was driven by an acceleration in energy prices which grew by 12.4% in March, compared with 10.2% in February. Food prices continued to rise at relatively high rates: 3.2% in March (compared with 3.1% in February).

The Polish government adopted a draft finance law for 2012 on 5th May that is counting on GDP growth of 4%. Although revenues are due to total 292.7 billion zlotys next year (74.3 billion euros), spending is due to rise to 327.7 billion zlotys (83.16 billion euros). The draft finance law plans for an average annual inflation rate of 2.8% in 2012 in comparison with an expected 3.5% this year. During a press conference the Polish Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski did not reveal the amount of the public finance deficit and simply said that it was due to decrease by five percentage points over the next two years.

On 4th May the European Commission presented a communication on migration outlining its initiative proposals for the months to come. These intiatives aim to step up border checks and governance in the Schengen area and to complete the common European asylum regime by 2012, to set out more criteria for legal migration, and to develop a strategic approach to relations with third countries on this issue. On the Franco-Italian controversy on the Schengen rules the Commission mentions the possibility of re-establishing border checks more easily, in particular instances but these checks would be decided on a European level and would be limited in time and space. The communication will be discussed by the Justice/Internal Affairs Council on 12th May next and the Commission will present measures as of 24th May.

On 4th May the French company Guerlain (perfume and cosmetics) and Spanish FES Consulting (business consulting) were the first companies to sign a declaration of commitment "More women on adminstrative boards, a promise for Europe." They promise to increase the number of women on their company boards to 30% by 2015 and to 40% by 2020. It is one of the themes mentioned in the project launched this year by the Robert Schuman Foundation: "Women and Europe and the Citizens' Initiative". The aim is to raise women's awareness in Europe about the new tool, the European Citizens' Initiative. We must know what you think: answer our survey without delay on women and Europe!

On May 5th Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovak Republic and Slovenia signed an agreement to create the "Functional Airspace Block – Central Europe" (FAB CE) an important step towards achieving the Single European Sky. Slowly the political objectives of the Single European Sky legislation adopted in 2004 is becoming a reality with Member States taking the necessary steps to ensure the creation of functional airspace blocks, or FABs. This agreement marks the realisation of the fourth FAB in Europe. The other European Union Member States are expected to sign similar agreements in the coming year.

On 5th May the European Commission adopted a new regulation to facilitate pan European rail journey planning and ticketing, by forcing a standardisation of rail passenger data on fares and timetables. This means that key reservation and ticketing information will be inter-operable and can be exchanged between rail companies throughout the EU as well as ticket vendors. The Commission will in 2012 bring forward a complementary legal measure requiring rail operators to bring their IT systems and practices into line, so that the standardised data can in practice be transferred between operators. These measures lay the technical foundations to allow a new generation of European rail journey planners and ticketing systems to start to emerge on market.

On 3rd May the first phase of a 600 million euro public-private partnership on the Internet of the Future (FI-PPP) was launched by European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes. The partnership will support innovation in Europe and help businesses and governments to develop internet solutions that will be capable of managing the exponential increase in online data. Whilst so far we have experienced the Internet of connected computers, and connected people, the Internet is now going mobile and it will connect a whole range of machines and objects. The partnership will explore eight areas where this data revolution could spur innovation and jobs in the mobile, software and service industries.

The European Parliament's Civil Liberties Commission approved a report by Carlos Coelho (EPP, PT) which gave the greenlight to Bulgaria and Romania's entry into the Schengen Area by the end of 2011 and this in spite of reticence on the part of some Member States. According to the report the two countries fulfil the required conditions. MEPs added an amendment requesting that the Member States concerned should inform Parliament and the Council in writing and within the six months following the entry into force of the accession decision, of any possible weaknesses and the need for the implementation of additional measures. The European Parliament will vote in plenary session on this report in June and the Council will decide unanimously on the Schengen agreements on future accession.

On 5th May the Cooperation Council between the EU and Moldova said that it had observed progress in relations between Moldova and the EU since the last cooperation council in June 2010. It noted a great deal of progress but stressed the need to implement the plan to counter corruption and the need to improve the business climate.

The 27 European States all agreed on 6th May to sanction 13 members of the Syrian regime by means of the freezing of assets and a visa ban. The list does not include either President Bachar al-Assad, nor Foreign Minister Waled al-Muallim, nor the Defence Minister Ali Habib Mahmud. However the list does include Mohammad Ibrahim Al-Chaar, Interior Minister and businessman Rami Makhlouf, who finances the regime. Sanctions also include an embargo on arms to Syria. Sanctions entered into force on 10th May. According to High Representative Catherine Ashton they may be extended afterwards to others in the regime if the repression continues.

On 5th May the contact group on Libya met in Rome to seek a solution to the Libyan crisis. Participants firstly repeated the need to step up military, political and economic pressure against Libyan leader Mouammar Kadhafi. Then they decided to create "a special fund" called a "temporary financial mechanism" aiming to transfer funds "transparently" to the National Transition Council. Finally they called for "national inclusive Libyan dialogue that will lead to the reconciliation and reconstruction of the country."

On 4th May the Deutsche Börse announced to its shareholders that it was about to launch its offer to merge with NYSE Euronext after the greenlight was given by BaFin, the German Federal Authority for Financial Service Monitoring. This merger would lead to the creation of the first global Stock Exchange. The offer that runs until 13th July focuses on the purchase of all of the shares of Deutsche Börse shareholders by the future holding of the two groups. The agreement of 75% of the shareholders of the Deutsche Börse is necessary.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban travelled to Germany on 5th May where he met German Chancellor Angela Merkel. They notably spoke of bilateral relations, the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU and the preparatory work for the European Council. During a joint press conference they spoke in support of Croatia's membership of the EU.

On 8th May the Pope Benedict XVI called on Catholics in the West not to allow themeselves to be led to "fear others" and to withstand discouragement in the face of criticism as he visited Venice. In a new appeal to welcome immigrants Benedict XVI called on churchgoers not to give in to "the fear of others, foreigners and those who came from afar" and who seemed to be "affecting them adversely" just as Europe is experiencing the polemic of the influx of immigrants from Tunisia and Libya.

On 5th May Slovenian President Danilo Türk visited his Estonian counterpart Toomas Hendrik Ilves. This meeting focused on the EU's neighbourhood policy and enlargement. The Estonian President re-iterated his wish to see Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine draw closer to the EU. He stressed the importance of the Balkan presence in the EU.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on a visit to Bulgaria on 5th May called on the young generation to commit to building a peaceful, ecological world and to fight against extreme poverty. He also spoke to the Bulgarian Parliament where he called on the political class to make women's autonomy and gender equality one of their priorities. He also stressed the importance of supporting the strengthening of the International Criminal Court. Finally he met Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

According to a Eurostat study published on 3rd May the industrial production price index increased in March 2011 in comparison with the previous month, by 0.7% in the euro area and by 1% in the EU. The highest rises in the total index were recorded in the UK (+3%), Denmark (+2.1%) and in Greece (+1.5%).

On 4th May Eurostat published a report which stated that in March 2011 the volume of retail trade decreased by 1% in the euro area and by 0.8% in the EU in comparison with February 2011. The biggest decreases were in Portugal (-4.7%), Slovenia (-3%) and in Germany (-2.1%) whilst the higest rises were seen in Estonia (+2.1%) and in Romania (+0.8%).

The Centre for European Political Studies has published a paper by Sergio Carrera, Elspeth Guild, Massimo Merlino and Joanna Parkin entitled "A Race against Solidarity - The Schengen Regime and the Franco-Italian Affair". The authors are extremely critical of the measures taken by these two countries and stand against any changes to the Schengen rules.

The French Institute for International Relations (IFRI) has published a paper by Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz on the EU's policy towards its Eastern neighbours entitled "Integration or Imitation? EU Policy towards its Eastern Neighbours."

Transparency International has just published its World Report on Corruption devoted this year to the link between corruption and climate change. In this report Transparency International warns against the dangers of corruption associated to the funding of the fight to counter climate change; this funding circulates via new unknown means and recommends the strengthening of governance systems in order to be able to rise to this challenge.

The Istituto Affari Internazionali has published a paper by Michele Comelli on the relationship between Italy and the EU entitled "Italy's Love Affair with the EU: Between Continuity and Change."

On 4th May the OCEDE presented a report entitled "OCDE Regional Innovation Policy". It stresses that regions are the economic engines of the world economy and are increasingly playing a driving role in the push for innovation and economic competitiveness, but disparities between rich and poor areas are growing and will require renewed government policy attention. OECD's new Regions and Innovation Policy shows that the richest 4% of regions accounted for one-third of all OECD growth over the 1995-2005 period. The report highlights a similar Innovation Divide, with half of all R&D investment and patenting in the OECD area centered in just the top 13-20% of its regions.

The internet has become the "main facilitator" of organised crime now used notably for drugs and human trafficking as well as money laundering said Rob Wainwright, Director of the European Police Office Europol on 4th May. "The use of internet has become a lot more widespread, it is now the main facilitator of organised crime," indicated Mr Wainwright on the occasion of the publication of the OCTA report 2011 by Europol. Increasingly criminal groups now use internet to commit crime and infractions that are deemed "more traditional", stresses the director of the European office.

On 6th May the ECB published the third edition of its publication entitled "The ECB's Monetary Policy". This book presents an overview of the ECB's monetary policy and its institutional and economic profile. This is the first since the financial crisis that covers all recent developments and implications on the European monetary policy.

The TRANSEUROPA Festival is taking place this year from 6th to 15th May. This transnational festival takes place simultaneously in 12 European cities (including London, Paris, Amsterdam, Bologna, Prague and Sofia). It is both an artistic, cultural and political festival set in place by a team from right across Europe. They promote democracy, equality and culture beyond the Nation-State and create a political and cultural area that fosters exchange, debate and action.

The 7th International Modern Art Fair of Vienna devoted notably to Central and Eastern Europe "Viennafair" will take place from 12th to 15th May. It brings together private and institutional art collectors, museum directors, gallery owners, artists, art critics as well as a public interested in art. Around 120 highly reputed galeries from over 20 countries will be presenting modern art: painting, graphic art, sculpture, photos, etc ...

The Staatliche Kunsthalle of Karlsruhe (Germany) is putting on an exhibition until 3rd October entitled "Our Modernity. Cézanne. Miro. Matisse. Beckmann. Klee" showing over 150 canvasses, sculptures, drawings and prints. It is offering an overview of the most important artistic trends of the first half of the 20th century starting with the main representatives of French impressionism and then on to the painters of "Die Brücke" (The Bridge) and "Der Blauer Reiter" (The Blue Rider) right up to New Objectivity and surrealism.

On 11th May the 64th Cannes Film Festival will start the jury of which will be chaired this year by Robert de Niro. Twenty films, the overwhelming majority of which are made by European directors are running in the competition for the Palme d'Or which will be delivered during the final ceremony on 22nd May. More than 50 films in all are in the official selection including "In Film Nist" (This is not a film) by Iranian directors Jafar Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahsmab which is being presented in a special session and "Bé Omid E Didar" (Goodbye)by Mohammad Rasoulof. The Festival is also honouring the EU on 16th May by celebrating the 20th anniversary of the MEDIA programme that supports European film making. Egypt is inaugurating a new feature in 2011 as it the guest country with ten short fiction films made during the Egyptian revolution - these will be presented during a special screening on 18th May.

From 12th to 16th May the 24th edition of the International Book Fair will take place in Turin. On the occasion of the anniversary of 150 years of Italian unity the masterpiece of this Fair is the exhibition devoted to the history of unification via Italian books. Russia is the guest country this year.